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SALT LAKE CITY — Community spread of COVID-19 cases in Utah appears to be dropping as the state continues its transition to "moderate risk" for the disease.
Only about 11% of cases are attributable to community spread, which refers to when investigators are unable to determine how a person diagnosed with COVID-19 contracted the disease, according to Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn.
About 60% of cases are attributed to transmission through family members, Dunn said Monday. Another 20% of cases were transmitted to the infected through someone they knew outside their own family. Only about 4% of cases were transmitted through the workplace.
Even though the rate of community spread seems to be going down, it's still critical to continue practicing the protective public health measures state leaders have set forth, Dunn added.
"Social distancing is still very important," she said.
Utah’s total number of COVID-19 cases increased by 142 from Sunday, with no new reported deaths, according to the health department.
Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn discussed the current coronavirus situation in the state at a health department press conference on Monday afternoon. Watch the replay of the event below.
Monday’s totals give Utah 5,317 confirmed cases, with 441 total hospitalizations and 50 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 5,175 cases in the state.
The new numbers indicate a 2.7% increase in positive cases since Sunday. Of the 124,661 people tested in Utah so far, 4.3% have tested positive for COVID-19.
The total number of cases reported by the health department includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah’s outbreak began including those who are infected now, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
As of Sunday, the health department estimated that 2,342 people have recovered from COVID-19. The department considers anyone who was diagnosed with the disease three or more weeks ago and has not died to be recovered.
Dunn said the state is investigating an active COVID-19 outbreak in San Juan County associated with the Navajo Nation. Over half of the county's 116 total recorded cases came last week, she said.
The health department has sent a mobile unit to the county to assist with testing, and health officials are advising Navajo Nation leaders as they respond to the outbreak, she added.
Since the Navajo Nation is a sovereign nation, the state health department is assisting the nation in its response, and a strike team has not been sent to San Juan County from the Utah Department of Health, Dunn said.
The state is preparing for the possibility of another surge in cases, though officials aren't necessarily predicting one at this point, Dunn said. Reducing social distancing restrictions does increase the risk of the disease spreading, though, she added.
However, Dunn and other state leaders hope the slow rollout of economic activity ramping up will help limit that spread, she said.
Officials won't know the impact of last week's shift from the red, high-risk zone for COVID-19 to the orange, moderate-risk zone for at least another week or so, Dunn said.
"Right now, we’re at a great plateau and we want to see that going down," she said.
